Wine Festival lots promise fantasy trips

Enjoy your wine overlooking Delaire Stellenboch estates in South Africa; a stay there is one of the prizes in the Naples Winter Wine Festival auction coming up Jan. 25 and 26.

A walk on the red carpet to attend the 2013 Emmy Awards.

Tickets to the Masters at Augusta National, then golfing the next day on the very course where the pros competed for the Green Jacket.

A hunting and fishing trip to Scotland for the guys and a women's haute couture trip to Paris.

Those are among the nonwine packages that highlight the 65 total lots to be auctioned Jan. 26 to 580 invited guests at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort as part of the 2013 Naples Winter Wine Festival. The Naples Children and Education Foundation sponsors the annual event to raise money for children's charities in Collier County.

Between the auction and intimate vintner dinners prepared by famous chefs the night before — tickets cost $8,500 per couple this year — the event has raised more than $107 million since 2001.

The challenge of creating the auction lots fell during the past year to Bob and Terry Edwards, foundation trustees and the 2013 festival chairs who have lived, breathed and slept with the challenge since late-January 2012.

"We didn't know what we were walking into," Bob Edwards reminisced of their initial agreement to take on the responsibility.

Now, almost a year later, the North Naples couple speaks proudly about the lineup they've assembled.

"I've really enjoyed working with each donor to gather the perfect lot elements, and we've collected what may be the largest number of special experiences ever auctioned at the festival," he said. "All the NCEF trustees are so gratified by donors' generosity, which will directly benefit underprivileged and at-risk children."

While information hasn't been released yet on every lot, here is a look at some of the highlights touted by the festival chairs and sponsors:

The top bidder on Lot 16, How the West Was Won, will walk the red carpet at the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards. They will have orchestra-level VIP seats for the Emmys and meet celebrities at the HBO after-party. Afterward, it's four nights in a Sedona, Ariz., resort with a hot-air balloon ride, helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon and more.

Lot 54, It's Masters Weekend — Bring Your Clubs!, is a golf-lovers' trip to the 2013 Masters Tournament for two couples. The trip includes four badges for three days at the 2013 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Ga., and what Bob Edwards calls the unheard-of opportunity for two people to play Augusta National on Monday morning following the tournament.

The high bidder on Lot 21, Whisky, Golf and Heritage at an Exclusive Scottish Mansion, wins a trip to Scotland for eight men for four nights at the 17th century Scottish Neoclassical mansion, Kinross House. Golf, hunting and fishing are featured, with each guy getting an exclusive, handmade, custom-fit shooting jacket from Holland & Sherry.

For the winner of Lot 40, C'est Magnifique, eight women will spend five nights in Paris in executive suites at Le Meurice, with private car service and guides provided. Among their destinations are the Eiffel Tower and other landmarks, famous museums such as the Louvre, and the private quarters of Louis XV and Louis XVI. In addition, they take in a full-day introduction to the closed-world of haute couture fashion and visit several Parisian fashion houses for behind-the-scenes tours.

The high bidder on Lot 12, Wheels Up, Wings Wide — A Luxurious World Awaits, wins a 22-day, around-the-world trip for a couple on a luxury jet that travels to Panama, Easter Island, Fiji, Australia's Adelaide and Kangaroo Island, Bali, India, Kenya and Portugal.

Highlights of other lots include a seven-night private cruise for three couples in the Greek Islands and along the Turkish Coast; two couples going to the South of France to walk the red carpet and attend a movie premiere at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival; and a South Africa safari for three couples for 13 nights, among other travel packages.

For a schedule of 2013 festivities and more information about the Naples Winter Wine Festival: www.napleswinefestival.com or 888-837-4919.

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